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Rankings are always tricky. Rating the top art schools depends on the criteria of the one or ones doing the judging and possibly whether or not they have some sort of connection or vested interest in placing certain schools where they place them. Cronyism aside and imagining a perfect world of total objectivity, a one-size-fits-all rating system would only work in a world where artists are determined ahead of time in a test tube and everyone is a homogenous clone. But then you have to wonder if art and creative expression would even really exist in such a utopian society.

So, back to the present day reality, a single specific answer to the question, "What are the top art schools?" generally does a disservice to the needs of the individual student. As with stereo components, it depends entirely on priority and application. The top school for music and performing arts will likely not be the top school for commercial and visual arts. Even within a single category, the "best" art school will still depend on the needs and priorities of the student.

There are a number of organizations and publications willing to give it a shot, though, and their conclusions can be easily found on the Internet. However, it is best to consider these ratings simply a starting point, as they can be quite misleading. Remember that higher education is funded primarily by the students who attend said facilities. No students, no school. No school, no over-paid faculty incapable of working in the real world. (Oops. Did I say that out loud?) And that, that certainly does not apply to all art school faculty members.

The first thing you need to determine is what you plan to do with an art education. There are many and varied career choices. The art career or occupation you want will be one of the most important deciding factors in your own personal ranking system.

For instance, if you're already working in the art field of your choice (or close to it) and all you need is a piece of paper, then you can probably get what you need from a local community college or state university. Depending on the state, that may be a less expensive way to get that piece of paper than going to a dedicated art school.

If, on the other hand, you're gunning for a particular possibly prestigious position in a well-known art gallery, it would serve you well to work backwards. Find out what they consider the top art schools and which of those they most often hire graduates from. In other words, which art school degree will get your resume to the top of the stack?

Your choice may also come down to economics. What can you afford; what kind of financial aid is available; and what are you chances of a reasonable pay off?

In the end, you are the judge. You will have to determine what the top art schools are for you and make the best choice for you. After all, individuality is the very pulse of art.

Online schools and colleges are available to provide students with the accredited educational training they need to obtain a degree in the field of film and photography. Students can gain an education at the associate, bachelor, or master degree level in this field. By enrolling in an accredited online school students can study and train for the career of their dreams from the comfort of home. Training for a career in this field will prepare students for a variety of career in a number of specialized areas.

Online educational programs are available to train students for careers in film and photography. Prospective film and photography students can learn a number of things about gaining an accredited education in this area of the field.

Accredited training is available to students at the associate, bachelor, and master degree level of education.

Career training will teach students how to capture images or videos for a variety of uses in their desired career.

Coursework will vary but may consist of budgeting, camerawork, producing, lighting, scriptwriting, videography, photography, and much more.

Possible careers in this area of the field can include working as key grips, editors, gaffers, photographers, videographers, and many other related professionals.

Gaining an accredited degree in film and photography will provide students with the skills needed to start a successful career.

Students who choose to earn a degree in this field can do so by seeking an accredited online school or college that offers their desired training. With a degree students will be able to enter the workforce prepared for an exciting career.

There are numerous accredited training programs online that offer an education in the field of photography. There are a number of things to know prior to enrolling into an educational program in this area of the field.

Students who choose to enroll in a photography program can earn an accredited associate, bachelor, or master degree.

Training will prepare students to take photographs for various personal or professional reasons.

Training will require students to complete coursework that may include history of photography, film developing, creative expression, digital camerawork, and much more.

With training in these areas students can pursue various careers such as photojournalist, wedding photographer, portrait photographer, artist, and more.

With an accredited education in this area of the field students will be ready to enter into the workforce.

By enrolling in an accredited online school or college and obtaining a degree in photography students will have the opportunity to receive the education necessary to pursue the career of their dreams.

Accredited online learning programs allow students to gain the quality education they need and desire. Accreditation is provided to qualifying online film and photography programs that prove they can provide the best education possible. Agencies like the National Association of Schools of Art and Design ( http://nasad.arts-accredit.org/ ) can fully accredited online schools and colleges. Students can research various degree programs and enroll today to start the path to an exciting career.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised at PETAP.org.

Whilst choosing a perfect website template to project the right image for your business could be a lot quicker and cheaper than hiring the services and skills of a web designer, it may not be the best way to create your online presence. So if you want a professional online presence generated quickly and cheaply, downloading a website template could be the right option for you.

Whilst this may be true not all templates are equal – some are designed and structured really well and look professional while others are downright nasty. But surely with all the website templates available online there must be some that are perfect for my requirements I hear you say.

That is probably true but, as mentioned above, not all web templates are the same in terms of quality or as easy to work with. In fact while some are free, some guide you step by step through the process of editing and uploading the template files and others require a certain amount of web design competency to edit and manage them.

So what is the best solution for creating your online presence? Well the list below illustrates some of the pros and cons of hiring the services and skills of a professional web designer or to use a web template.

Website Template or Web Designer?

Cost You will be able to find and download a great, well designed website at a reasonably small cost while the services of a professional web designer will come at a significant cost.

Timing Once you have located a suitable template online, you will be able to download it immediately, edit it and insert the content you want and upload it – you could have your online presence created the same day. However having a designer design your site could be a fairly long process with progress meetings and follow up meetings.

Customizing While most templates can be edited and customized to reflect your corporate image and so on, some of them could require a certain amount of html and web design competency. Having a web designer build your site would mean that all customizing of your site would be taken care of.

So there you have it. With all the information above you should be able to decide wherever your online presence will require the coding and graphics expertise of a web designer or will it be just as good and effective with a well designed template.

Dallas City in Texas continues to experience steady growth in its real estate industry notably on the commercial side. This is not really a wonder as Dallas is a large city which accommodates several huge industries consisting of the petroleum, transportation, banking, information technology and telecommunications sectors. But despite the growing economy, Dallas remains to be among the most affordable cities in the U.S., according to Forbes.

The Dallas Texas real estate industry has also maintained its momentum since it began experiencing its booming days back in the 1980s. The Dallas commercial real estate including the big buildings and skyscrapers was a major growth factor. In addition, the Dallas metroplex accommodates numerous high-end shopping centers more than that of any other city or state in the U.S.

Experts reveal that the commercial real estate market in Dallas is in great condition compared to the residential properties. In terms of foreclosure, the percentage of Dallas office space, apartment, industrial and retail buildings is very small. This is due to the fact that commercial companies almost always have the financial resources to carry out their expansion and construction projects.

Dallas is seen to continue being a commercial real estate hub in the many years to come. Currently, new construction projects of condos and townhouses are widespread around this booming city. The other good news is that many of the office spaces previously available in Dallas have already been occupied or pre-leased. The central business district of the city has reduced its office vacancy rate to 24 percent as of end of September 2007.

The year 2007 has proved to be favorable for the Dallas commercial real estate sector. Latest reports from Cushman & Wakefield say office tenants that have been expanding and relocating have leased 1.5 million square feet more of office space in the Dallas-Fort Worth area in the first half of the year. The third quarter net leasing has also soared nearly 90 percent from totals in mid-2007. A recent report by Delta Associates showed that Dallas-Fort Worth is seen to accommodate an average of 4.8 million square feet of office space each year until 2010.

As for construction, an estimated 6.9 million square feet of office space is now being built in Dallas-Fort Worth as of the middle of 2007 and this is bigger than in 2006. Of the estimated office space being constructed, more than 40 percent is already pre-leased. Rents have also risen to seven percent from the 2006 rates. Third quarter figures show that office rents averaged $19.42 per square foot while rents for medical office space rose 12 percent to $24.4 percent.

With all these positive developments going on, the future of Dallas commercial real estate is indeed looking bright. Many real estate investment firms are seeing a low vacancy rate and substantial rent gains this 2007. Developers are also projected to provide 2.6 million square feet of office space by the end of the year while building owners are expected to ask for higher rents as a result of lower vacancy. The reduction in vacancies is being attributed to the surge in employment by 3.2 percent covering more than 900,000 jobs by year end.